It sucks, really, before the Telecom Act of 1996 no one firm could own more than 25% (which is actually far less than it might sound) of any market in the media. After that though, America came witness to record consolidation. 6 major labels became 4; Viacom went on a rampage and bought out as many channels and film developers as that greedy monstrosity could; Time Warner purchased pretty much every means to get the media, be it cable networks, internet connection, or anything else they could profit from; and News Corp pretty much did the same thing Viacom did, just to a lesser extent. Then we have the infamous Clear Channel, a media tapeworm set in Texas, which, soon after this Act was passed, proceeded to buy out around 1200 stations nationally. The consolidation probably didn't seem like such a bad thing at first, but what it did in the long run is drive out creative, independent media. This meant that television, films, and radio were now oligopolies, minimally competing with one another, more so just colluding.

Without independent radio, film, or TV, there is no perfect competition, which means there is no need to try something different and no need to be creative; which means all you have to do to make a profit, since there's nothing else to watch/listen to, is keep playing what you're playing, until you drive it into the ground and it's no longer profitable (see hip hop). That, my friends, is why we're in this vast cesspool known only as the 00's, because big media expects us to watch and listen to the same sheeshty thing over and over again for years to come. They underestimate the consumer and, despite the signs that they are vastly out of touch, still attempt to shove the same homogenized trash down our throats, but at least there's the vast media equalizer, the internet, which is too vast and powerful for so few companies to keep down, without which I don't know what I'd do for the news or entertainment.

So, do you think this consolidation is to blame? Or is a technological change? Maybe just a fall out in morals and common sense?

Technically speaking, Viacom didn't ruin MTV. It's technically owned the network since 1986, and MTV still had many good years after that. By the 1990s terrestrial radio was turning into a dinosaur, and the industry lobbied the government to pass new laws because they were loosing so much money. This is how the 96' Telecom Act came to be. Even if the Act never came to pass, radio may have died a slow death anyway, the shift in media is much more profound than media consolidation, the consolidation is a small piece of the puzzle to deal with the internet and its effects on evaporating profit.

The same sad thing is happening to video games. It seems that by 2010, we;ll only have a few publishers left. with all the big companies like EA buying out all of the independent developers, who knows what'll happen. EA claims that they've changed their ways, and promises not to interfere with crazy deadlines and annoying focus testing as they have in the past, but I'm not buying it just yet. Luckily, not all devs are giving up so easily. EA has been operating a hostile take over of Take2 for months and have yet to succeed. with the amazingly profitable launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, Their offer of $26.00 a share just doesn't cut it anymore. All is not yet lost. We still have some hope.

Big example is Clear Channel buy local radio stations and clearing out the local friendly DJ..(some needed it), but it got cheaper to syndicate to all stations..now who cares what station is Clear Channel..I prefer personality radio.

The same sad thing is happening to video games. It seems that by 2010, we;ll only have a few publishers left. with all the big companies like EA buying out all of the independent developers, who knows what'll happen. EA claims that they've changed their ways, and promises not to interfere with crazy deadlines and annoying focus testing as they have in the past, but I'm not buying it just yet. Luckily, not all devs are giving up so easily. EA has been operating a hostile take over of Take2 for months and have yet to succeed. with the amazingly profitable launch of Grand Theft Auto IV, Their offer of $26.00 a share just doesn't cut it anymore. All is not yet lost. We still have some hope.

I would hate for EA to get Take Two. EA will stop at nothing less than a total monopoly of the American gaming market. Thank god the Japanese market (most games I play are made by the Japanese) is more balanced.

Honestly though, the big threat to video games isn't consolidation, its the Nintendo Wii. Yes, it has brought new groups of people to gaming. Thats the problem. The people its bringing to gaming are old people, housewives, etc. Most of these people buy a Wii for Wii Sports, maybe Wii Play, and thats it. They couldn't less about story, quality gameplay, etc. In fact, games with those qualities tend to sell low on the Wii (see: Metroid Prime 3, No More Heroes, etc.) while the 7/10 games like Wii Play sell like hotcakes. It is terrible that the Wii is vastly outselling the PS3 and Xbox 360 despite the fact that the Wii has the worst game lineup of the three this year. Seriously, all we have for Wii this year is Super Smash Bros. Brawl (genuinely good game), Mario Kart Wii (a step down from the previous Gamecube installment), Wii Fit (overpriced mini game collection), and...thats about it. Its pathetic that the Wii is vastly outselling the PS3 and Xbox 360 despite its game library being, for the most part, an utter wasteland.

If this is the "future of gaming" Nintendo promised us back in 2006, then I don't want any part in it.